St. John's University Athletics
Jeff Belge struck out nine in eight scoreless innings in the championship game of the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament
Three Johnnies Recognized as Top 150 Prospects by D1 Baseball
9/20/2018 11:12:00 AM | Baseball
Gavin Hollowell, Jeff Belge and Sean Mooney given preseason recognition by national publication
Coming off the program's second-straight 40-win season and its league-record ninth BIG EAST title, three members of the St. John's baseball team have been recognized by D1 Baseball as some of the nation's most highly touted collegiate prospects.
Gavin Hollowell led the way, checking in at no. 84 overall and no. 42 among pitching prospects. Reigning BIG EAST Tournament MOP Jeff Belge came in at no. 107, while two-time First Team All-BIG EAST selection Sean Mooney rounded out the trio of Red Storm prospects at no. 146.
St. John's is one of just 18 programs nationwide to have three or more players recognized on the list.
Hollowell earned his preseason praise following a stellar sophomore campaign that saw the right hander establish a reputation as one of the nation's most intimidating relievers. Standing at 6-foot-7 and running his fastball into the upper 90s, Hollowell went 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA and a microscopic .138 opponent batting average for the Red Storm in 2018. The Garden State native ranked second on the team with five saves, striking out 34 and surrendering just 10 walks over 33.1 innings of work.
Hollowell recently spent the summer with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League, going 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA in six appearances, four of which were starts. He struck out 18 batters and walked nine in 19.2 innings of work.
Belge, a powerful 6-foot-5 southpaw, also used a strong sophomore season and a solid summer on the Cape to draw the attention of scouts. The Syracuse native went 6-4 with a 2.84 ERA in 2018 for St. John's, making starts in nine of his 16 appearances. Belge, who led Red Storm's starters in opponent batting average at .174, came on strong at the end of the year, going 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA in his final 10 outings.
Playing for the Chatham Anglers for the second-straight summer, Belge tied for second in the Cape League with 46 strikeouts while surrendering just 19 walks in 35.2 frames of work. He also ranked third in ERA (3.53) among pitchers with at least 0.8 innings pitched per game.
Mooney earned his spot in the top 150 thanks to the most dominant start to a career in the long and storied history of St. John's Baseball. Having garnered All-America recognition on seven different occasions over the first two years of his collegiate tenure, Mooney currently owns a career record of 19-5 in 32 appearances with a 2.12 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.4-to-1. The 2017 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Mooney was unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team again in 2018 after tying the program's single-season wins record with 11 victories. His 104 strikeouts on the campaign were also good enough for eighth on the program's single-season record list.
Gavin Hollowell led the way, checking in at no. 84 overall and no. 42 among pitching prospects. Reigning BIG EAST Tournament MOP Jeff Belge came in at no. 107, while two-time First Team All-BIG EAST selection Sean Mooney rounded out the trio of Red Storm prospects at no. 146.
St. John's is one of just 18 programs nationwide to have three or more players recognized on the list.
Hollowell earned his preseason praise following a stellar sophomore campaign that saw the right hander establish a reputation as one of the nation's most intimidating relievers. Standing at 6-foot-7 and running his fastball into the upper 90s, Hollowell went 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA and a microscopic .138 opponent batting average for the Red Storm in 2018. The Garden State native ranked second on the team with five saves, striking out 34 and surrendering just 10 walks over 33.1 innings of work.
Hollowell recently spent the summer with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League, going 1-1 with a 5.03 ERA in six appearances, four of which were starts. He struck out 18 batters and walked nine in 19.2 innings of work.
Belge, a powerful 6-foot-5 southpaw, also used a strong sophomore season and a solid summer on the Cape to draw the attention of scouts. The Syracuse native went 6-4 with a 2.84 ERA in 2018 for St. John's, making starts in nine of his 16 appearances. Belge, who led Red Storm's starters in opponent batting average at .174, came on strong at the end of the year, going 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA in his final 10 outings.
Playing for the Chatham Anglers for the second-straight summer, Belge tied for second in the Cape League with 46 strikeouts while surrendering just 19 walks in 35.2 frames of work. He also ranked third in ERA (3.53) among pitchers with at least 0.8 innings pitched per game.
Mooney earned his spot in the top 150 thanks to the most dominant start to a career in the long and storied history of St. John's Baseball. Having garnered All-America recognition on seven different occasions over the first two years of his collegiate tenure, Mooney currently owns a career record of 19-5 in 32 appearances with a 2.12 ERA and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.4-to-1. The 2017 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, Mooney was unanimously selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team again in 2018 after tying the program's single-season wins record with 11 victories. His 104 strikeouts on the campaign were also good enough for eighth on the program's single-season record list.
Players Mentioned
Monday, June 08
Saturday, June 06
Friday, June 05
Monday, June 01